U.S. patent number 7,418,721 [Application Number 11/277,948] was granted by the patent office on 2008-08-26 for apparatus for aligning and clipping different size compact discs for disc device.
This patent grant is currently assigned to TopRay Technologies Inc.. Invention is credited to Chin-Sung Liu, Chia-Hao Ou, Chun-Yao Wang.
United States Patent |
7,418,721 |
Liu , et al. |
August 26, 2008 |
Apparatus for aligning and clipping different size compact discs
for disc device
Abstract
An aligning and clipping apparatus for slot-in CD/DVD
players/ROM to load different size discs is provided, including a
base, a tray, at least two moveable clipping elements, at least two
ejection elements, and an auxiliary clipping element. Two clipping
elements are installed at the front end of the tray for loading and
clipping the disc. The auxiliary clipping element is on the top of
the base for improving the stability of the clipping. The ejection
elements are at the two sides of the rear end of the tray for
ejecting the clipping of the disc so that the disc is in the
position for data reading and writing. To achieve the function for
clipping different size discs, the moveable clipping elements are
placed at a specific angle and a specific curvature. Therefore, the
different size discs can be clipped and held.
Inventors: |
Liu; Chin-Sung (Hsinchu,
TW), Ou; Chia-Hao (TaiChung Hsien, TW),
Wang; Chun-Yao (Hsinchu, TW) |
Assignee: |
TopRay Technologies Inc.
(Hsinchu, TW)
|
Family
ID: |
37614517 |
Appl.
No.: |
11/277,948 |
Filed: |
March 30, 2006 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20070118845 A1 |
May 24, 2007 |
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Nov 22, 2005 [TW] |
|
|
94220199 U |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
720/604 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G11B
17/0515 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G11B
17/04 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;720/622,706,624,675,616,606,621,704,618,620,628,604,629,630,659,672
;369/292,194 ;360/99.07,99.06,99.02 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Cao; Allen T
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A clipping and aligning apparatus for loading discs of different
sizes into a CD/DVD player/ROM and devices with a disc loading
mechanism, comprising: a base; a tray, moving along a straight line
inside said base; at least two moveable clipping elements, located
at two sides of said tray for clipping said disc, each said
moveable clipping element further comprising: a carrier, a round
locking pawl, a support element and an elastic element; at least
two ejection elements, located at two sides of said tray for
ejecting said disc from said moveable clipping elements and
aligning said disc, each said ejection element further comprising a
long slide plate with a first end as a trigger and a second end as
a Z-shaped locking pawl, a push element and a torque spring; and at
least an auxiliary clipping element, located at said base for
improving clipping stability.
2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said tray moves
inside said base following a track.
3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said auxiliary
clipping element is a moveable element.
4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said carrier
comprises a trench.
5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said carrier is at
one end of said carrier, and said round locking pawl is at the
other end of said moveable clipping element connecting said
Z-shaped locking pawl.
6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said elastic
element is on the front surface of said moveable clipping element,
and said support element is on the rear surface of said moveable
clipping element.
7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said support
element of said moveable clipping element and said moveable
clipping element are coaxially engaged.
8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said support
element stops said slide plate of said ejection element when said
disc reaches the correct position.
9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said support
elements fixes said moveable clipping element when said ejection
element is activated.
10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said elastic
spring has one end attached to said tray and the other end attached
to said moveable clipping element.
11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said round locking
pawl of said moveable clipping element is connected to said
Z-shaped locking pawl of said ejection element.
12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the two ends of
said torque spring are fixed at said tray and the middle point of
said torque spring is fixed at said slide plate.
13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said torque spring
exerts a force to move said slide plate towards inside of said
base.
14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said trigger is
for activating ejection element when said tray is close to said
base within a pre-determined range.
15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said push element
pushes said disc to the correct position.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to an apparatus for
aligning and clipping discs (CD/DVD) for a slot-in CD/DVD
player/ROM, and more specifically to an apparatus for loading and
aligning disc of different sizes into a slot-in CD/DVD
player/ROM.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Conventional slot-in CD/DVD players/ROM have convenient loading and
ejection devices; therefore, they are popular and a variety of
products incorporating slot-in CD/DVD players/ROM are developed,
such as CD/DVD players/ROM for vehicles and notebook PC.
However, conventional slot-in CD/DVD players/ROM are usually
designed for 12 cm Disc, and are not suitable for the relative
newcomer, 8 cm Disc. For most of all tray-type player/ROM, it only
supports 8 cm disc on horizontal-position. Tray-type will fail for
8 cm disc on vertical-position.
Although there are CD/DVD players/ROM that can load both 12 cm and
8 cm Disc, these CD/DVD players/ROM usually have complex mechanical
design and an expensive price-tag. Therefore, these CD/DVD
players/ROM are not widely accepted in the end-user market.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made to overcome the above-mentioned
drawback of conventional slot-in CD/DVD players/ROM. The primary
object of the present invention is to provide an aligning and
clipping apparatus for slot-in CD/DVD players/ROM to load different
size disc. The present invention includes a base, a tray, at least
two moveable clipping elements, at least two ejection elements, and
an auxiliary clipping element.
Two clipping elements are installed at the front end of the tray
for loading and clipping the disc. The auxiliary clipping element
is on the top of the base for improving the stability of the
clipping. The ejection elements are at the two sides of the rear
end of the tray for ejecting the clipping of the disc so that the
disc is in the position for data reading and writing.
To achieve the function for clipping different size disc, the
moveable clipping elements are placed at a specific angle and a
specific curvature. Therefore, the different size disc can be
clipped and held.
The present invention has a simpler design than the conventional
CD/DVD player/ROM, and can load both 12 cm disc and 8 cm disc.
Therefore, it is convenient for the user and provides flexibility
to users of different size discs.
The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages
of the present invention will become better understood from a
careful reading of a detailed description provided herein below
with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention can be understood in more detail by reading
the subsequent detailed description in conjunction with the
examples and references made to the accompanying drawings,
wherein:
FIG. 1 shows a three-dimensional view of the disc loading apparatus
without the disc;
FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of the disc and the elements of the
loading apparatus when disc is first loaded;
FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of the disc loading process;
FIG. 4 shows a three-dimensional view of the fully loaded 8 cm disc
and the activated ejection elements;
FIG. 5 shows a the-dimensional view of the auxiliary clipping
element;
FIG. 5a shows a the-dimensional view of the trench of the moveable
clipping elements;
FIG. 6 shows a schematic view of a 12 cm disc when the disc is
first loaded;
FIG. 7 shows a 12 cm disc during the loading process;
FIG. 8 shows a schematic view of the clipping elements after
ejecting the disc;
FIG. 9 shows a schematic view of the rear structure of the support
element before the clipping elements turn; and
FIG. 10 shows a schematic view of the rear structure of the support
element after the clipping elements turn.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 shows a three-dimensional view of the disc loading apparatus
before loading the disc. The loading apparatus of the present
invention includes a base 1, a tray 2, a pair of moveable clipping
elements 3, 4, an auxiliary clipping element 5, and a pair of
ejection elements 6, 7. The disc will be added for later
explanation.
Auxiliary clipping element 5 is located at the front part of base
1, and the front end of auxiliary clipping element 5 is aligned to
the front end of base 1. Auxiliary clipping element 5 is for
improve the clipping stability during the clipping and ejection.
Auxiliary clipping element 5 is shaped as an inverse-L (as shown in
FIG. 5); therefore, it can fit snuggly with the rim and the top of
the disc to improve the stability when the disc is clipped. When
loading the disc, auxiliary clipping element 5 will turn clockwise
along the rim of the disc. On the other hand, when ejecting the
disc, auxiliary clipping element 5 is turning counterclockwise
along the rim of the disc.
Tray 2 moves along direction A and direction inside base 1 when
loading and ejection the disc. Moveable clipping elements 3, 4 are
located respectively on the two sides of the front end of tray 2,
as shown in FIG. 1, for clipping and aligning the disc. When
different size discs are loaded, moveable clipping elements 3, 4
will react differently in order to clip and align the 8 cm or 12 cm
disc precisely.
The two sides of the rear end of tray 2 include ejection elements
6, 7, respectively for ejecting moveable clipping elements 3, 4
from the disc when the disc is loaded and aligned to the position
for data reading and writing. When different size discs are loaded,
ejection elements 6, 7 will react differently to moveable clipping
elements 3, 4 in order to align the 8 cm or 12 cm disc
precisely.
The following will describe the moveable clipping elements and the
ejection elements with the embodiments of 8 cm disc and 12 cm disc,
respectively.
FIGS. 2-4 show the successive snapshots of the 8 cm disc during the
loading process, including when the disc being first loaded, during
the loading, and after the ejection of the clipping elements.
FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of the situation when the disc is
first loaded into tray 2. Moveable clipping elements 3, 4 are
attached at the two sides of the front end of tray 2. Parts 3, 4
are rotary clipping elements. Moveable clipping element 3 includes
a round locking pawl 31 and a carrier 32. Similarly, moveable
clipping element 4 includes a round locking pawl 41 and a carrier
42. The trench openings at the front end of carriers 32, 42 (as
shown in FIG. 5a) are used for clipping the disc. The thickness of
the trench openings is 1.2 mm, which is the thickness of the disc.
Therefore, the stability is reliable.
By slightly pushing the disc toward direction A, carrier 32 turns
clockwise, and carrier 42 turns counterclockwise. At the same time,
a limit switch (not shown) is activated to drag tray 2 toward
direction A. Moveable clipping elements 3, 4 includes elastic
elements 33, 43, respectively. The tips of elastic elements 33, 43
are attached to the sides of tray 2, and the second tips are
attached to the locking pawls close to carriers 32, 42. Elastic
elements 33, 43 are for maintaining the original angle of moveable
clipping elements 3, 4 so that carriers 32, 42 can easily clip the
disc.
FIG. 3 shows a snapshot during the loading. Ejection elements 6, 7
are a slide plate, including a Z-shaped locking pawl 61, 71 at one
end, and a trigger 62, 72 at the other end. Carriers 32, 42 of
moveable clipping elements 3, 4 are still clipping the disc, and
round locking pawls 31, 41 are connecting Z-shaped locking pawl 71,
61, respectively. Auxiliary clipping element 5 moves along tray 2
in the clockwise direction. As the disc is 8 cm, auxiliary clipping
element 5 does not perform any operation to maintain the
stability.
FIG. 4 shows the activation of ejection elements for the 8 cm disc.
When tray 2 reaches the inner rear end of base 1, triggers 62, 72
(not shown) uses the collision force with base 1 to move the slide
plates of ejection elements 6, 7 toward direction B, and Z-shaped
locking pawls 61, 71 also move toward direction B. Because round
locking pawls 31, 41 are no longer touching Z-shaped locking pawls
61, 71, moveable clipping element 3 turns clockwise and moveable
clipping element 4 turns counterclockwise. As moveable clipping
elements 3, 4 turn in different directions, round locking pawl 31
can engage the rear end of Z-shaped locking pawl 71 in the
clockwise direction and round locking pawl 41 can engage the rear
end of Z-shaped locking pawl 61 in the counterclockwise direction.
In the mean time, carrier 32 moves away, i.e., ejects, from the
disc in the clockwise direction and carrier 42 moves away from the
disc in the counterclockwise direction. The ejected carries 32, 42
form a gap from the disc so that the disc is precisely aligned to
the position for data reading and writing.
The above describes the loading process for the 8 cm disc, and the
following embodiment describes the loading process for the 12 cm
disc, as shown in FIGS. 6-8.
FIG. 6 shows a schematic view of the situation when the 12 cm disc
is first loaded into tray 2. Two support elements 34, 44, as shown
in FIG. 9, that are co-axial to moveable clipping elements 3, 4,
are located at the two sides of the rear of tray 2 for assuring the
correct and precise operation of moveable clipping elements 3,
4.
By slightly pushing the disc toward direction A and with the
curvature of the 12 cm disc, carrier 32 turns clockwise, and
carrier 42 turns counterclockwise. At the same time, support
elements 34, 44 co-axial to moveable clipping elements 3, 4 also
turns, as shown in FIG. 10.
FIG. 7 shows a snapshot during the loading 12 cm disc. The disc on
tray 2 is clipped by carrier 32, 42, and continues to move toward
direction A. Auxiliary clipping element 5 moves along the rim of
the disc in the clockwise direction. Ejection elements 6, 7 not
only include the elements described in FIG. 3, but further include
torque springs 63, 73, and push elements 64, 74. The two ends of
torque springs 63, 73 are attached to the two sides of ejection
elements 6, 7, respectively, and the middle points of torque
springs 63, 73 are attached to the slide plates of ejection
elements 6, 7. Torque springs 63, 73 exert a force in direction A
to push ejection elements 6, 7 to a fixed position. The protruding
tips of ejection elements 6, 7 are push elements 64, 74 for pushing
the disc away from the clipping elements.
When triggers 62, 72 touch base 1 to the pre-determined extent,
triggers 62, 72 activate the operation of ejection elements 6, 7 to
eject all the clipping elements away from the disc. FIG. 8 shows
the activation of ejection elements for the 12 cm disc. When
ejection elements 6, 7 are activated, auxiliary clipping element 5
turns away from the disc in the counterclockwise direction.
However, moveable clipping elements 3, 4 do not perform any disc
ejection operation, which are accomplished by ejection elements 6,
7.
FIG. 10 shows a schematic view of the rear structure after the
ejection elements are activated. The slide plates of ejection
elements 6, 7 are pushed by torque springs 63, 73 towards direction
B to a fixed position. Ejection elements engage support elements
34, 44 to prevent from springing back while pushing push elements
64, 74 of ejection elements 6, 7 to push the disc from the trench
of carriers 32, 42. This accomplishes the disc ejection from the
clipping elements and aligns the disc to the precise position for
data reading and writing.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to
the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the invention
is not limited to the details described thereof. Various
substitutions and modifications have been suggested in the
foregoing description, and others will occur to those of ordinary
skill in the art. Therefore, all such substitutions and
modifications are intended to be embraced within the scope of the
invention as defined in the appended claims.
* * * * *